Steam iron support



May 2, 1961 M. J. ALLEN STEAM IRON SUPPORT Filed June 6, 1960 MARY J. ALLEN lOb I STEAM IRON SUPPORT Mary J. Allen, 7502 Limekiln Pike, Philadelphia50, Pa.

Filed June 6, 1960, Set. No. 34,222

10 Claims. (Cl. 248-1176) This invention .relates to ironing equipment and, more particularly, to a convenient support for steam irons.

Ordinarily, a hand type steam iron is, placed upon its heel when not in use, and is thus quite unstable, thus presenting a potential hazard. Also, such steam irons should be emptied after each use, whereupon it is ordinarily necessary to manually hold the iron in an inverted position to drain water from the pour spout thereof. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a convenient steam iron support assembly which will securely hold the iron in a rest position during ordinary use, and which will also hold the iron in an inverted position for draining the contents thereof after each use.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a steam iron support of the type described in which a platform is provided with clamps for detachably securing the steam iron in place thereupon, which platform may be conveniently rotated from a normally upwardly inclined position to an inverted vertical position to facilitate the. emptying of the water from the interior of the iron after such use.

Another specific object of the present invention is to provide a steam iron fixture of the above type which can be manufactured at a relatively low cost, may be adapted for all types of standard and steam irons, and which is extremely safe for all types of home, domestic, institutional, and commercial activities.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a steam iron support assembly made in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the assembly shown in Figure 1, with the parts in a normally disposed position;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing the parts in an adjusted position for emptying the contents from the steam iron through the pour spout thereof;

Figure 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of certain parts of the present invention; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of certain positioning parts of the present invention.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, a steam iron support assembly made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a wire rod type main frame having a base 12, with upwardly extending triangular side frames 14'and transversely extending end pieces 16. One of the end pieces 16 is further provided with a reentrant portion 18 that serves as a stop for limiting rotation of a platform 20 pivotally carried upon the main frame in a manner hereinafter more fully described.

The platform 20 conforms substantially to the sole plate of a steam iron 21 that is to be mounted thereupon and has a pair of depending side plates 22 each provided with a longitudinal slot 24. The apex of each triangular side frame 14 is provided with a mounting pin 26 that is slidably and rotatablyreceivedwithin the longitudinal slot,

of the respective side plates 22, thus facilitating the selec-,

tive rotation of the platform 20 from the normal upwardly inclined position shown in Figure 2 to the downwardly directed vertical position shown in Figure 3. The platsite front end of the platform. In actualuse, the heel of form 20 is further provided with spacer type reinforcements- 28 and upwardly projecting dimples 30 to facilitate the flow of air between the-sole plate of the iron 21 and; the surface of the platform 20, thus minimizing the transfer of heat to the main frame and the ironing board upon which the main frame is normally supported. e The platform 20 is provided with positioningmeans in the form of a heel flange 32 at one rear end of the platform and a pair of yieldable springclips 34 at the oppothe iron-21 is placed against the heel flange 32 of the plat-f form 20 and the front end of the iron is snapped into place past the inwardly biased spring clips 84. Thus, the heel plate 32 and spring clips '34 secure the iron in a detachably mounted position upon the platform 20. As is more clearly shown in Figure 5 of the drawing, each of the spring clips 34 is provided with an arcuate sliding surface 33 along of which the sides of the sole plate of the iron freely pass during the initial positioning of the iron, and a deep reentrant portion 37 which increases the flexibility of the spring clip and minimizes the amount of force required to position the iron upon the platform after each use. As a result, the spring clips 34 may be of generally light spring construction and serve only to pre-.

vent the accidental displacement of the iron fromthe assembly during use.

A cross bar, 'in the form of a plate 42 is slidably sup. ported upon the lower horizontal longitudinal sides of the frame for adjustment relative to the opposite ends thereof.

Detachably mounted upon this cross bar 42, is a drip cup 36 having a self contained depending spring clip 40. The

interior 38 of the drip cup 36 is adapted to receive the liquid from the pour spout 23 of the iron 21 when in the draining position shown in Figure 3.

In actual use,the platform 20 is maintained in the upwardly inclined annular position shown in Figure 2,

Figure 3, wherein the assembly 10b facilitates the draining of the liquid from the interior of the iron outwardly through the pour spout 23 directly into the drip cup 36.

After the iron has been thoroughly drained, the contents in the compartment 38 of the drip cup 36 may be disposed in and the entire assembly conveniently stored for future use. It is to be noted that the longitudinal slots 24 1 in the brackets 22 facilitate the adjustment of the platform 20 in that they maintain the center of gravity of the iron and supporting plate 20 below the pivot pin 26 in both positions 10a, 10b, thus avoiding accidental tilting thereof until such is desired.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to the construction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such is not to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, which is best de fined by the claims appended hereto;

Having thus described my invention, I claim as-new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: e I

1. A steam iron fixture comprising, in combination, a frame having a base for supporting engagement upon a substantially horizontal surface, a platform having a front if I a 2,982,506 7 j Patented. May 2, -1 951-- end and a rear end pivotally supported upon said frame pour spout of the iron facing said front end of-saidplat form, stop means limiting rotation of said platform in one direction to a normally inclined iron storage position with said front end of said platform at a higher elevation than said rear end thereof, and said platform being rotatable to a substantially vertical position for draining the contents from the pour spout of the iron.

2. A steam iron fixture comprising, in combination, a frame having a base for supported engagement upon a substantially-horizontal surface, aplatformhaving a-front end and a rear end, positioning means carried by said platform for supporting a hand steanr iron having a pour spout thereupon with the pour spout facingsaid-front end of said platform, bearing means pivotally supporting said platform upon said base for selective movement between an upwardly inclined positionwith said front end-at a higher elevation than said rear'end and anothersubstantially vertical position with said front end at a lower elevation than said rear end for emptying the contents from the steam iron through the pour spout thereof.

3. A steam iron fixture as set forth in claim 2, wherein said frame comprises a substantially rectangular base and a pair of substantially triangular side frames upstanding from said opposite lateral sides of said base.

4. A steam iron fixture as set forth in claim 3, wherein said bearing means comprises a bearing pin carried by the uppermost apex of each of said triangular side frames, and said platform having a pair of laterally spaced apart depending brackets rotatably receiving said bearing pins of said side frames.

5. A steam iron fixture as set forth in claim 3, wherein each one of said depending brackets-of said platform ineludes, a longitudinal slot rotatably and slidably receiving said bearing pins of said triangular side frames.

6. A steam iron fixture as set forth in claim 5, further comprising a stop integral with one longitudinal end of said base projecting upwardly between one end of said triangular side frames and projecting into the path of movement of said platform into said one position, thus limiting rotation of said platform beyond said one position during rotation from said other position.

' 7. steam iron fixture as set forth in claim 6, further comprising a drain cup carried by said'frame substantially vertically aligned beneath said bearing pins of said triangular side frames.

8. A steam iron fixture as set forth in claim 7, further comprising a cross bar slidably supported upon said base for reciprocating longitudinal movement, said drain cup having a spring clip slidably receiving a central portion of said cross bar therethrough, whereby the position of said drain cup between the longitudinal extremities of said base may be adjusted to accommodate a steam iron of any desired style.

9. A steam iron fixture as set forth inclair'n' 8, wherein said positioning meanscomprises aheel plate integral with one rear end of said platform, and said front end of said platform including a pair of upwardly opening spring clips releasably receiving the nose of a steam iron mounted upon said platform.

10. A steam iron fixture comprising, in combination, a frame having a base for supported engagement upon a substantially horizontal surface, a platform having a front end and a rear end, positioning means carried by said platform for supporting a hand steam iron having a pour spout thereupon with the pour spout facing said front end of said platform, bearing means pivotally supporting said platform upon said base for selective movement to an upwardly inclined position with said front end at a higher elevation than said rear end and another substantially ver tical position with said front end at a lower elevation than said rear end for emptying the contents from the steam iron through the pour spout thereof, said platform having a pair of depending brackets, each one of said brackets including an elongated longitudinal slot, said frame having a pair of bearing pins rotatably and slidably received within each of said slots of said depending brackets of said platform, and a stop carried by said frame limiting rotation of said platform beyond said one position in response to rotation of said platform from said other position toward said one position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

